Tuzigoot National Monument
Tuzigoot National Monument
4.5
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Built on the top of a hill, these are the ruins of a village from 1100 A.D. that once consisted of approximately 110 rooms.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Plan your visit
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
50 within 3 miles
Attractions
95 within 6 miles
See what travellers are saying
- RV Manifest Destiny162 contributionsNational historical parkGreat visit! This national park is full of history and is done nicely. It is dog friendly . Do not bring your RV in here there is no parking to support it. The trail through the upper ruins is done very nicely and you have great views. The marsh trail was closed when we visited. Your national park pass works here as well.Visited September 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 3 October 2023
- Brenda DMonroe, Wisconsin18 contributionsAncient Ruins with beautiful views.Tuzigoot is a small park packed with a lot of history and amazing ruins. It's just a few minutes outside of Cottonwood, AZ, and about a half hour from Sedona. It was definitely worth the stop to learn about the Native people who had lived in the area for a millennium before white people settled there. We spent about an hour exploring the ruins which are on a hill with views in all directions.Visited March 2024Travelled with familyWritten 1 April 2024
- Louis V15 contributionsYou are allowed to enter the dwellingThis is one of the rare parks where you are allowed to enter a traditional dwelling. You can feel how their wall material keeps the interior naturally cool and how the dwelling was designed to maximize airflow. From the top of the mound you can see how the village was carefully laid out to maximize resources. In the station, you can see a very early example of pueblo mosaic jewelry.Visited April 2024Travelled with familyWritten 13 April 2024
- John PSouth Deerfield, Massachusetts887 contributionsOur final stop on the loop 4/19/24Tuzigoot has the ruins you can climb and enter. The view is excellent, and you can see Jerome marked with it's "J" from the top. Our National Park Pass covered us again. Very neat to imagine life back in the day, and enjoy the immenseness. A quaint museum inside, and welcome restrooms.Visited April 2024Travelled with familyWritten 5 May 2024
- Claudia10229Dallas, Texas492 contributionsWorth the visit, read the signs to learnSmall but enjoyable National Monument to visit. The museum had many pieces to see and were well marked. You can buy any of the National passes at the gift shop before visiting other National Monuments or National Parks. There was a restroom available. It is a rather steep incline to the top of the hill to view the dwellings. The very top of the hill has a dwelling you can enter and climb up to the next level. Excellent views of the landscape and how mining impacted the Jerome area. Excellent place for children to be able to run/stretch their legs. There were signs for snakes so keep to the path and watch where you walk.Visited May 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 10 May 2024
- Seabrookgal536 contributionsNice National Monument, great views!Built on a hill that overlooks the entire area, these ruins are of a pueblo from about 900 years ago. At one time, Tuzigoot was over 100 rooms. You can see some of the ruins, but there are also some complete rooms that you can actually enter. There are also some walking trails. There is a nice Visitor's Center with a number of informative exhibits. There is also a gift shop. The rangers here were friendly and informative. It isn't a big park so parking can be difficult during high-season. The entrance fee is only $10 and you can save your receipt and use it for Montezuma Castle National Monument, as well. The walk up to the ruins isn't too extreme and is gradual. Even with bad knees, I was able to get to the top.Visited April 2024Travelled with familyWritten 22 May 2024
- dands238Batavia, New York242 contributionsSmall but interestingSmall national monument but interesting. Be sure to read the signs and visit the info center. Lovely views of the surrounding areas. FYI they have a reciprocal system - if you pay for admission to Montezuma Castle you can get in free to this with your receipt, and vice versa.Visited August 2024Travelled with familyWritten 15 August 2024
- KateS6,197 contributionsWorth the timeThere's not much to this place, in terms of land area, so it's easy to see it all in a short time, with very little physical effort. I was fascinated by what we've learned about the people who lived here. I was also fascinated with the story of the excavation & documentation of artifacts by a WPA crew. This place doesn't really compare to some of the larger sites, like Chaco Culture National Historical Park, but I found it really interesting, & definitely worth the time. Tip: have your camera ready on the drive in, because you can see it from a good distance away.Visited September 2024Travelled soloWritten 22 September 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
795 reviews
Excellent
410
Very good
294
Average
81
Poor
6
Terrible
4
mrszimme2001
Morrilton, AR73 contributions
Nov 2020 • Family
This is a hidden gem located in between Cottonwood on the way to Jerome. It is worth a stop. Each visitor can look through the museum and then walk up to and through the monument. Park rangers are located throughout the park and are so very knowledgeable. Beautiful scenery. Just a nice place to visit.
Written 27 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kathy H
Irvine, CA1,188 contributions
Jul 2019
We came here after a big hike in Sedona. The kids wanted to get their junior ranger badge here so they got the booklet and started working on it in the visitor center which has a wonderful museum w lots of information. When we were ready to go outside to see the pueblos, ranger Jeff King said he would accompany us on the walk since some of the displays were unreadable and he would fill in the information on it since the kids would need the information for their junior ranger booklet. We got an amazing guided tour of the pueblo. The walk was not far, maybe one mile round trip if you go all the way to the end. It was really great to learn about the people who used to live here and see what’s left behind! If you are not doing junior ranger program, you can probably cover everything outside in 20-30 minutes but make sure to spend time looking at the displays inside the visitor center too. Highly recommend this little national monument!!
Written 30 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steven L
Lancaster, PA87 contributions
May 2022
This is a good stop before Montezuma's castle. If you don't go to the castle, this is still a park that is worth the sop. The grounds and ruins are well maintained. You are able to go into the tower and really witness the building techniques the people of that time used. It is a quick tour but you can definitely take your time to read all of the information boards along the way. I expected it to only be a tower but there are many rooms throughout the grounds . The gift shop had artifacts from the area and reasonably priced merchandise.
Written 5 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
magnoliaeleven
Lewisville, NC4,384 contributions
Jan 2022
We found out about Tuzigott when we stopped at Walnut Canyon National Monument and thought we would try to stop in while in the area.
We stopped here about 1:30pm on a Friday while traveling from Sedona to Prescott. This is a National Monument and we were able to use our new "America the Beautiful" pass to access without charge.
Tuzigoot is located between Cottonwood and Jerome and is well marked and easy to find.
The Tuzigoot Visitors Center has a nice yet small museum which helps to explain the area and gift shop. We purchased a few items and walked the ruins.
As we walked were very impressed with how they built on the high hill which would provide defense from all directions. We also learned about the copper mine tailings which were deposited in the area.
Overall, this was another great visit of one our National Monuments.
We stopped here about 1:30pm on a Friday while traveling from Sedona to Prescott. This is a National Monument and we were able to use our new "America the Beautiful" pass to access without charge.
Tuzigoot is located between Cottonwood and Jerome and is well marked and easy to find.
The Tuzigoot Visitors Center has a nice yet small museum which helps to explain the area and gift shop. We purchased a few items and walked the ruins.
As we walked were very impressed with how they built on the high hill which would provide defense from all directions. We also learned about the copper mine tailings which were deposited in the area.
Overall, this was another great visit of one our National Monuments.
Written 24 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Valerie N
West Michigan166 contributions
Feb 2020
Since Montezuma Castle was such a great stop, we decided to visit Tuzigoot (just outside of Cottonwood). There were some interesting similarities and differences in the architectural styles and techniques of the two places. Comparing and contrasting the two sites is easy to do in a reasonably short amount of time yet, you get a chance to learn a lot about the indigenous people who lived centuries ago in the area.
Written 4 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MikeB1952
Santa Fe, NM1,171 contributions
Mar 2020
A surprise National Monument. Driving off the mountain from Jerome, we saw a brown sign announcing Tuzigoot National Monument. Never heard of it before. We were intrigued and drove to the Monument. Really interesting place. But strangely confounding.
The Visitor Center built in the 1930s contains a nice museum with numerous artifacts. Good explanations of discovery and preservation of the artifacts. For a small space, it’s quite impressive.
And the ruins. Interesting. There are a number of stone rooms perched on top of a bluff. It appears that the pueblo was built in sections over a period of time. There are other pueblos in the area, but none as prominent and well preserved as this. We walked to the bluff and around the pueblo. It’s pretty neat. And down below are a number of additional rooms. What were they there for? Why did the peoples build on a bluff? And like natives throughout the West, why did they leave? Lots of questions. We’re glad we stumbled on the Monument
The Visitor Center built in the 1930s contains a nice museum with numerous artifacts. Good explanations of discovery and preservation of the artifacts. For a small space, it’s quite impressive.
And the ruins. Interesting. There are a number of stone rooms perched on top of a bluff. It appears that the pueblo was built in sections over a period of time. There are other pueblos in the area, but none as prominent and well preserved as this. We walked to the bluff and around the pueblo. It’s pretty neat. And down below are a number of additional rooms. What were they there for? Why did the peoples build on a bluff? And like natives throughout the West, why did they leave? Lots of questions. We’re glad we stumbled on the Monument
Written 22 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RMurray847
Albuquerque, NM340 contributions
Oct 2020
Very cool, quick stop to make if you're in the area. It's a ruined pueblo village (which existed for hundreds of years and went through various expansions) that was "rebuilt" using a lot of the original stones. The result is what is still a ruin, but one that gives a strong idea of what living on this site might have been like. It sits on its hill with expansive views of the whole valley. It's a peaceful spot, but one can also see how strategically important it would have been.
I have to admit, the idea that ruins were rebuilt (and quite a few decades ago, when we perhaps had less knowledge than we do now) does make me wonder just how "accurate" the reconstruction is. Am I getting a really good sense of what the place was like, or was there a lot of creative license used? That's the only reason I have to dock a star...this place COULD be a little bit "phony."
The gift shop is small (appropriate to the small scale of the park) but there is also a small but excellent little museum in there as well. Here is where recovered items (pots, tools, etc.) are on display and well described.
We did the whole park in about an hour. It is a fast but very worthwhile history lesson, and I recommend it for that. The setting is very nice as well, making a stop here pretty darn nice.
I have to admit, the idea that ruins were rebuilt (and quite a few decades ago, when we perhaps had less knowledge than we do now) does make me wonder just how "accurate" the reconstruction is. Am I getting a really good sense of what the place was like, or was there a lot of creative license used? That's the only reason I have to dock a star...this place COULD be a little bit "phony."
The gift shop is small (appropriate to the small scale of the park) but there is also a small but excellent little museum in there as well. Here is where recovered items (pots, tools, etc.) are on display and well described.
We did the whole park in about an hour. It is a fast but very worthwhile history lesson, and I recommend it for that. The setting is very nice as well, making a stop here pretty darn nice.
Written 6 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Taylor W
Davisburg, MI730 contributions
May 2021 • Couples
Not a bad little spot for a visit. We were able to view the whole thing in about 15 minutes and it’s not a long walk at all to the monument, but it is an uphill walk.
It was $10 per person which if it were just to view this monument I wouldn’t say it was worth it, but it also gave us access to the Montezuma National Monument down the road which made the price worth while.
I will say the view from up top is nice!
It was $10 per person which if it were just to view this monument I wouldn’t say it was worth it, but it also gave us access to the Montezuma National Monument down the road which made the price worth while.
I will say the view from up top is nice!
Written 13 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Richard H
Fort Worth, TX221 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
Uniquely perched on top of a mountain (hilltop) that allows you to feel like you’re there in the day, and able to use the fields below to hunt or plant, and yet be able to see any dangers coming. The rangers were very friendly and informative. I would recommend you purchase the National Parks pass, as this place, like many National Monuments, isn’t someplace that you will spend a lot of time. That said, if is definitely worth the trip if you’re staying in the area, such as Sedona.
Written 1 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Teresa W
Lake Havasu City682 contributions
Sept 2022 • Couples
Way too hot. For those that need a little extra support on the stairs or walkways, the railings were too hot to touch ev n at noon. There wasn't a lot to see. It took about 15 to walk around the structure and at $10 each was not worth the cost. Fortunately, we had an access pass which made it tolerable.
Written 6 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, If I read your comments correctly, you can use your receipt from Montezuma's castle as a free pass to get into this National Monument? And it's $10.00 admission otherwise? WE are in our early 70's and love the southwest. Is it possible to do both Montezumas and this place in 1 day, comfortably?Thanks in advance!
Written 21 April 2019
Hi!
In answer to your question, Yes the receipt from Montezuma's Castle is valid for entrance into Tuzigoot National Monument, it is valid for 7 Days from the date of purchase.
Yes it is possible to visit both Montezuma's Castle & Tuzigoot in one day depending on what time you start. We allowed at least 2 Hours for each visit, and the distance between the two is 23.5 Miles (Approximately 40 Minutes Drive) using Hwy 260.
However, don't forget that only 11.0 Miles from Montezuma's Castle is Montezuma's Well (No entrance fee required) and 5.8 Miles from Montezuma's Well is the V Bar V Petroglyph Site.
V Bar V is the largest known petroglyph site in Verde Valley and one of the best preserved. You will need either a "Red Rock Pass" or an "America The Beautiful Pass" for this site. The Petroglyphs are at the end of 1/3rd Mile trail from the parking area. Checkout the USDA Forest Service Website for more info on the various passes.
V Bar V may be closed if the weather is very wet or there is the chance of a thunderstorm.
Montezuma's Castle ~ Open 08:00 ~ 17:00 Daily
Montezuma's Well ~ Open 08:00 ~ 16:45 Daily
Tuzigoot Nat Mon ~ Open 08:00 ~ 17:00 Daily
V Bar V Petroglyph Site ~ Open 09:30 ~ 15:00 Mon, Fri, Sat & Sun Only
Hope that this all helps and that you have a wonderful visit.
And thanks for the question.
Written 22 April 2019
Nothing. I have been there twice. Thanks anyway.
Written 15 March 2017
we were at Tuzigoot in the fall. we strolled through the guest center and saw everything but did not read everything.
we strolled the site, read everything, talked to a ranger and some other travellers. Not rushed. Took plenty of pictures.
it was 40 minutes from start to finish based on the time of our photos. we saw people come and go while we were there.
honestly i think an hour is more than enough time to do it justice.
it's not a big site, but it's a lot of fun.
Written 16 March 2017
Where is the lake located that I see in the picture?
Written 24 August 2015
The lake is difficult to reach, but can be approached from either the Tuzigoot NM side or through a trail at the Dead Horse Ranch State Park. The latter is a better, more scenic route. Either way, the lake is surrounded by thick cattails, precluding views or easy access to water. Dead Horse offers many fine trails, camping, it's own mini fishing lake. The views from Dead Horse toward Tuzigoot at sunset are exquisite. The ruins bathed in gold. Think 7 Cities of Gold.
Elfinwoods Warbler
Written 25 August 2015
Showing results 1-5 of 5
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing